General Tips – Page 71 – ORGANIZING CREATIVITY

Why Science Should Act as Reality Check (even for bogus ideas)

2014-06-22

A look at the role science should play in public discourse, using Thunderf00t's "Solar Roadways" criticism as example. Also: Imagination, bad ideas, and nay-sayers.
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Perspective

2014-06-21

We live in an amazing world, even if we don't realize it. Here's a short video clip highlighting a few of the amazing things and why many "inconveniences" don't really matter.
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Energy Ice Cubes (caffeine + guarana)

2014-06-20

If you need a cool drink, why not use ice cubes with a little more pep? You can easily freeze caffeinated drinks to create ice cubes with caffeine.
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Mashup Frenzy!

2014-06-18

If you like to put together nice digital works, e.g., mashup books or t-shirts, this is the golden age. There are countless fonts, images, texts, programs, and print services available.
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Using the Travel Time to and From Work

2014-06-16

A different view on using the time to work -- not for work, even if your work is in Academia. Also, how to walk through the city without ever being distracted by someone you know.
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Recommendation: Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot

2014-06-14

Reverence to one of the most famous and ... inspiring photographs and speeches.
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Advising Grad Students in Good Faith (and What Every Grad Student Should be able to Get)

2014-06-12

An "I Quit" letter from 2009, serving as a powerful testament that sometimes, just sometimes, Academic Integrity wins. It also shows the two things every grad student should make sure to get -- or get out fast.
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Correlation and Causality

2014-06-11

Looking at the relationship between correlation and causality via an empirical analysis of the statistically significant relationship between the number of storks and the number of births. Yes, there's a paper on it. Also a reference to a website looking at spurious correlations.
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Mac OS X Automator

2014-06-08

Introduction of a very useful tool to ... well, automate actions on the Mac. You can rename lots of files in seconds, edit them, and much more.
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Suggestions for Writing an Autobiography

2014-06-06

Suggestions on how to write an autobiography -- some questions and memory triggers. Great as a gift for a parent. Just ... don't wait too long.
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This is a private blog showing my opinions. If you have an issue with what I write here, either don’t read it or talk to me directly. Don’t waste your time — or mine — dragging my employer into matters where they hold no authority.

The institution I work for, or rather the people officially representing it, have already distanced themselves from this blog. I find this unnecessary, as I’ve clearly stated in the «About this Blog» section that this is a personal blog.

Frankly, I have nothing but contempt for those who lack the backbone to address their concerns directly and instead resort to passive-aggressive tattling to others. Such behavior strikes me as not only cowardly, but also spineless, gutless, and wholly unprincipled. Moreover, these efforts are as pathetic as they are futile.

That said, I might listen if you present compelling arguments and evidence, as constructive feedback is always welcome. Who knows? We might even both gain something valuable from the interaction.

A comment for those seeking to use this site for personal gain: Given the increase in requests, let me be clear. I write on this blog because I want to. It’s my hobby, my playground. Sometimes people point me to interesting products/services and I write about them. But any request regarding ads or sponsored placements ends up the trash without a reply. And if you think something would be of interest, differentiate yourself from the spammers by referring to a posting — in an intelligent way. (I get enough auto-generated mails to identify them immediately.)

BTW, posts can get updated after I published them if I spot spelling errors (not a native speaker) or think a different wording might improve precision and clarity.

This blog is not focused on a single topic, or method. As long as it is relevant to improving creativity (or allowing it in the first place), it's fair game.
Some postings on this blog deal with freedom, as I think that we need freedom of thought, of speech, of association, etc. pp. to solve mankind's problems. Thus, some postings may seem a bit remote when it comes to organizing creativity. Freedom is, however, the bedrock of creativity.
The heterogeneity of the postings can make reading this blog a bit cumbersome, at least if you are only interested in one topic. You can either use the search function (above), or use the categories or the tags to narrow down the postings you see.